Roscommon Municipal District Meeting – 26^th June, 2019

On the PROPOSAL of Councillor Shanagher

            SECONDED by Councillor Fitzmaurice

It was AGREED to adopt the Minutes of the Roscommon Municipal District Meeting held on 26^th June, 2019.

The following matters were raised –

Cllr. Leyden enquired if Local Link replied to our letter

John Mockler indicated that he had managed to get contact details for them and suggested that Cllr. Leyden agree the draft with him beforehand.

On the PROPOSAL of Councillor Leyden

            SECONDED by Councillor Shanagher

It was AGREED that the road located within Aran Court Housing Development at Ballinagard Townland, Roscommon be declared a public road.

On the PROPOSAL of Councillor Waldron

            SECONDED by Councillor McDermott

It was AGREED that the road located within The Meadows Housing Development at Longford Townland, Castlerea be declared a public road.

On the PROPOSAL of Councillor Fitzmaurice

            SECONDED by Councillor Waldron

It was AGREED that the road located within Slína Srutháin Housing Development, Ballinlough be declared a public road.

John Mockler explained that a submission was received from Antogher Court Residents Association regarding the maintenance of the open spaces within the estate and a request was made for an Engineer to assess the sightlines at the junction out on to the public road.

Martin Lydon clarified that the residents of the estate are responsible for the maintenance of the open spaces within the estate.

John Mockler confirmed that he would look into issues along Antogher Road adjacent to the junction with Antogher Court.

John Mockler explained that a submission was received from Margaret Mc Crann concerning cutting the grass within the estate.

On the PROPOSAL of Councillor Leyden

            SECONDED by Councillor Shanagher

It was AGREED that the road located within Grecian View Housing Development, Clooneybeirne Townland, The Walk, Roscommon be declared a public road.

It was further agreed that Roscommon County Council will erect estate name plates if not already in place.

John Mockler confirmed that he made contact with landowners on Antogher road as agreed previously, especially those where we would have to acquire land.  He explained that the constraints are so vast that it is questionable as to whether we can deliver this project within a reasonable budget.

He suggested we proceed with a surface rehabilitation contract for Antogher Road for 2020 in conjunction with a Low Cost Safety Scheme.  He indicated that the surface overlay in conjunction with low cost safety measures and pinch points to slow the traffic down should make a good difference.  We will try and tie the works in at Antogher Court.

The members expressed their thanks for all the work gone into the design and the overall input into the project to date.

John Mockler pointed out that the first contractor who was awarded the Roads Contract pulled out and the next tenderer took over the contract.  This resulted in additional costs and in order to deliver the Roads Programme for 2019 the following revisions are required –

·         Omit Church Road in Castlerea (€151,088) as Irish Water have not completed works on this road and replace it with four other roads as follows

On the PROPOSAL of Councillor Fitzmaurice

            SECONDED by Councillor Leyden

It was AGREED to postpone road works on Church Road in Castlerea until Irish Water have completed their work and carry out work on the four roads as listed above.

·         Omit LP1812 Railway Gates to Ballinagard (€32,000) and postpone the works until 2020 and transfer the budget of €32,000 to LS-7042 Ardnanagh which has cost more than anticipated.

On the PROPOSAL of Councillor Shanagher

            SECONDED by Councillor McDermott

It was AGREED to postpone works on LP1812 until 2020 and transfer the budget to cover the increased costs of the Ardnanagh Road project LS-7042.

Request from Councillor Shanagher & Leyden:

“That Roscommon County Council honour at the next civic reception, Roscommon Under 16 Camogie Team who won the All Ireland Final on 25^th August, 2019”

APPROVAL OF CIVIC RECEPTION REQUEST – ROSCOMMON UNDER 16 CAMOGIE TEAM

On the PROPOSAL of Councillor Shanagher

            SECONDED by Councillor Leyden

It was AGREED by all the members to hold a Civic Reception to honour the Roscommon Under 16 Camogie Team who won the All Ireland Final on 25^th August, 2019.

The great effort displayed by the team and their management was highly praised.

APPROVAL OF CIVIC RECEPTION REQUEST – AOIFE & LISA O’ROURKE

On the PROPOSAL of Councillor Fitzmaurice

            SECONDED by Councillor Dineen

It was AGREED by all the members to hold a Civic Reception to honour Aoife O’Rourke who won a Gold Medal at the European Elite Women’s Boxing Championships in Madrid and her sister Lisa O’Rourke who won a Bronze Medal at the European Youth Boxing Championships in Sofia.

Congratulations were extended to everyone involved in organising the home coming for Aoife O’Rourke.

The Castlerea Town Team update is as follows -

·         The Beara Breifne walk was inspected and that went very well

·         There will be a Halloween walk

·         A Christmas Experience Event is being organised for Castlerea Town

·         A parent led youth club is being established in Castlerea Town

·         The town team are working with the Castlerea Defibrillator Committee to ensure that the town is adequately covered with defibrillators

·         The town team are working with Castlerea Prison on improving the approach roads into the town

·         The planning application for the slipway at Frenchlawn will be submitted shortly

·         The application for funding for the slipway has been submitted to Leader

·         A discussion took place on the benefits of twinning Castlerea Town with another town in Ireland

The Roscommon Town Team update is as follows -

·         A very successful event “who do you think you are” took place during Heritage week.  Roscommon Town Team actively supports genealogy and the importance of tracing your roots.  It offers huge potential to promote County Roscommon and our heritage

·         A project is being planned to celebrate the fact that Roscommon Train Station will be 160 years in existence in 2020.  The town team are working with Irish Rail and hopefully will be able to organise a Steam Train to come to Roscommon Town to mark the occasion

·         An application for Explore and Restore funding has been submitted

·         A meeting took place between Roscommon County Council and the Outdoor Recreational Scheme regarding the new sculptor trail planned for Loughnanane Park

·         The Run/Walk like a local leaflets are printed and distributed

·         Work is ongoing to finalise the images for the Creative Animation of the Train Station

·         Roscommon Town Team are linked with Roscommon Transition Town which is another sub-committee of the Town Team

VOTES OF CONGRATULATIONS/SYMPATHY

were extended to Aoife & Lisa O’ Rourke, Castlerea for their fantastic achievements in the Women’s Boxing Championships.

The following additional items were raised-

·         Cllr. Dineen requested an update on the naming of the New Estate at Knockroe, Castlerea.  John Mockler agreed to discuss running a plebiscite with Corporate Services

·         Cllr. Fitzmaurice requested that the plans to resurface Main Street in Castlerea after 7pm in the evening be also extended to Patrick’s Street as loss of business is a huge concern to the business owners situated there

·         A general discussion took place regarding hedge cutting in Roscommon.

·         A discussion took place regarding the safety of the pedestrian crossings in close proximity to the schools in Roscommon Town.  Cllr. McDermott requested that the pelican crossings be replaced by a traffic light system.  John Mockler agreed to bring the issue to the attention of the Roads Department

·         The light at the Pelican crossing at the Hollytree was mentioned and John Mockler informed the members that it was going to be expensive to repair the light and that there was currently no available funding

·         A discussion took place about the possibility of introducing a Junior School Warden system at the schools in Roscommon Town.  It was agreed that Roscommon Town as the county town with such a high volume of traffic would benefit from such a system.  Cllr. Leyden in her position of Cathaoirleach agreed to contact the Principal of St. Coman’s Wood about introducing a Junior School Warden Scheme. 

·         Cllr. Shanagher sent best wishes to the Tidy Town’s Groups going to the Award Ceremony in the Helix over the next few weeks